The State of Reggae

Sean Paul’s new album Full Frequency is currently at the top of the Billboard reggae chart for a second weak straight.

The album debut at the top of the chart, dethroning Snoop Lion’s reggae debut album Reincarnated.

LISTEN: Sean Paul – Front & Back [New Music]

Despite being at the top of the chart, Full Frequency, which was released on February 18, only sold 2,160 in its first week of release.

This highlight a major problem not only plaguing reggae music, but also other genres in the mainstream music market, album sales are at a all time low.

This is also one of Sean Paul’s lowest selling album. In contrast his 2002 Dutty Rock sold 65,000 copies in its opening week but went on to sell over six million copies worldwide.

The dancehall star’s 2005 release The Trinity sold 107,000 copies in its first week, but went on to move over 4 million copies worldwide. Sean Paul created history with the best opening week sales by a Jamaican musician.

back in the day album sales was the only measure of 'success'.. well outside of touring, merchandise, etc.. .. these days you also have to include digital sales(both per single sales and streaming plays)..

A combination of Sean Paul having no tunes in rotation in US, 7 years since his last album success is a lifetime for the demographic that was purchasing this, and records sales are highly down. I doubt de Peazy is to worried about it. Sean seemed to have really good timing with the rise in popularity with everything red , gold, green during those years.

True SCRoots but, remember, this is STILL the #1 selling reggae album so that does not speak well of ALL the other albums in this genre which sold even LESS that week (or should I say 'weak' as the article did)....

Just curious but is this including ITunes sales? So many people these days are not buying albums with digital downloads, spotify and Soundcloud. You can be a member of Spotify and they have almost every Midnite album on there.

when music downloads are available for free and the only thing a "seller of music" has to ensure that people pay is the goodwill of mankind you should look for another method of payment. This is not my opinion on what anyone should or should not be paying for. This is the reality of the age. Live on stage is the only way artist should be looking to make any money. Recorded music is for Promo purposes until you are a Marley or win The Voice.

"Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks data from cash registers is collected from 14,000 retail, mass merchant, and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, digital music services, etc.) outlets in the United States, Canada, UK and Japan."

So, presumably, the answer is YES, this includes iTunes Tyler. I don't know how places like Pandora or Spotify 'fit' into their calulation.

And Ninja, if "a Marley" or a winner of "The Voice" puts out a reggae tune, that would be listed on Billboard's chart as well...

Quoterossta8888
Just curious but is this including ITunes sales? So many people these days are not buying albums with digital downloads, spotify and Soundcloud. You can be a member of Spotify and they have almost every Midnite album on there.

To answer this question, it depends. For soundscan to track an album, it has to be registered with soundscan. the VAST majority of reggae labels/producers don't bother to do this.

touche... however selling music online is like selling air to people. I guess some people might buy air, but the vast majority of people just inhale and go about their day I suppose. Just my 2 Cents... could speak to the habits of the fans of the genre as well.

Daniel this is indeed a situation of grave concern to all who are involved in the Reggae music business. While recorded music sales in all music genres have declined drastically in recent years, the decline in Reggae sales has been at a far greater rate, and we need to examine what the reasons are. Maybe the SNWMF organization should host a panel discussion of some sort to address this issue along with other relevant issues on the state of Reggae.

Quotelloydstanbury
Daniel this is indeed a situation of grave concern to all who are involved in the Reggae music business. While recorded music sales in all music genres have declined drastically in recent years, the decline in Reggae sales has been at a far greater rate, and we need to examine what the reasons are. Maybe the SNWMF organization should host a panel discussion of some sort to address this issue along with other relevant issues on the state of Reggae.

could it be that reggae or jamaican music is primarly a mix-tape music? when speaking on modern tunes,i can only take 2mins of a song.. after that i hit next.. a quality mix gives enough of a song, followed by a next fitting one.

Maybe Dr.Seuss or JB Welda could host a forum in the I-View tent this year, similar to the one he(Welda) tried to hold a couple year's back but no one really had anything to say(me included) other than "reggae's in great shape" blah blah. The writing has been on the wall for some time now, we just get a little too comfortable with the way things are or more importantly, the way we wish them to be-so a lot gets lost on wishful thinking and not enough action to compensate.

I say... Some Never Plant yet want to Reap,
Be careful, try to look before you leap;
Took a little walk from my Vineyard...
Now I'm all alone..

The problem goes back to the source...lack of forward-thinking of the artists and producers who treat the business like a hustle, churning out riddims and albums like popcorn hoping something sticks rather than focusing that energy into one or two annual projects with a higher-quality result.

I might be off base here, but I think the growing cultural divide, particularly on issues like homosexuals, contributes. Back in the day reggae wasn't as violent or out in the open about their anti-gay beliefs, and I think a lot of folks have been turned off by it.

Could another factor be the rise of white bands that are more palatable to the youth? I remember the Jamaican bands drew in the large crowds when I was young.

Hapilos Entertainment Group has responded to a controversial press release which has set tongues wagging in the entertainment industry.

The press release was sent to various media houses via SHUZZR PR from an anonymous writer and blames the poor standard of dancehall music being distributed worldwide solely on Hapilos Music Group, which is regarded as one of the top digital distributors in the Caribbean.

According to the release, dancehall and reggae music are being misrepresented internationally. The release claims that music distributors like Johnny Wonder of Hapilos Entertainment have consistently distributed music from artists and producers who have not been produced properly and suggests that the poorly produced tracks are suffocating the industry because they do not meet international standards.

“Some say dancehall is dead! Some say reggae is dead! But is it really? Surf the Net or any social media platforms that promote dancehall and reggae. I guarantee that you will find quality singles and compilations from each genre, but only after a deep search,” the release said.

The release alleges that a search of the Internet will prove that the majority of the poorly produced music that has been promoted as that which Jamaica has to offer has been distributed by Haplios.

“Now we should ask ourselves who is responsible for this travesty that is now our music industry. Do your research and you will end up with the name Johnny Wonder of 21st Hapilos nine out of 10 times,” the release said.

The release also said various artists had signed the letter in support of its claims, however, no artist was singled out.

“The following article was sent to us with the signature(s) of several dancehall and reggae practitioners who have sought our services to help promote their stance or views. Thus, these views or stance taken may not reflect the views of SHUZZR PR,” the release read.

21stHapilosDigitalDistribution

ARGUMENT BASELESS

In an equally long release, Hapilos sought to add some clarity to the situation. They claim the argument from the controversial press release is baseless and is instead an attempt to attack Johnny Wonder’s character.

“The writer who proclaims herself to be an artist who received bad “customer service” is a coward who did not reveal herself and shouldn’t strive to be anything but anonymous. We stand 100 per cent behind our executive VP Johnny Wonder and we have every confidence in him,” Hapilos’ release read.

According to Hapilos, it has distributed projects that are not up to first-class standards in an attempt to expose new producers and artists to the music industry. The organisation went as far as naming producers who they claimed benefit from this kind of marketing.

“The hate article began with the writer lamenting the ‘excess of music that lacks creativity and quality’ being put out into the market. These so-called ‘lack of creativity’ tracks come from young producers and upcoming artists which 21st Hapilos Digital Distribution have chosen, as a business, not to ignore and to give a platform for their music. Seanizzle, Markus Myrie and Rvssian are just some of our clients who were once young producers who came to us to distribute their music. We gave them the platform to showcase their music and today they are some of our most successful producers,” Hapilos’ release read.

Markus Myrie

The distribution company says the only thing it is guilty of, is being tardy and disclosed that a proper customer service system is being put in place so as to assist clients and the musical queries better.

The Gleaner contacted Johnny Wonder to ascertain if the Hapilos response was authentic and he confirmed its legitimacy.

“We have our suspicions but we do not know for sure who sent it as the sender opted to remain anonymous. Based on reactions so far, it has done more good than bad as a lot of our strengths were inadvertently highlighted in the hate mail,” Johnny Wonder said. [www.clintonlindsay.com]

For 34 years my store has aggressively forwarded reggae in our town. We have produced concerts, supported those who produced concerts, we even have our own imprint for reggae releases. You wanted a Cornell Campbell, Jackie Mittoo, Brigadier Jerry, or Sean Paul release?? No problem. Rock steady, Studio One?? Come on down.

Sadly, 2013 continued a trend I've seen over the past years----SALES ARE DOWN. Or as my head buyer said in January, looking over an otherwise good holiday season for us, Who would have ever thought we'd only sell 4 copies of a new Midnite in a month??

The current 20-something folks that flock our store pretty much ignore the Jamaican section.It is on the same center aisle populated by our blues section----and THAT music gets more attention from this age group.

Finally, anyone who checks Ernie B's website will have noticed the enormous amount of labels having to do with non-Jamaican releases being carried----the man wants to stay in business. And my own orders from Ernie in the past 18 months have been anywhere from 70-90% non-Jamaican titles.

This is not the reality we saw in the 80s & 90s, but it is what we have now.

A lot of very good points have been made here so far as to why Jamaican Reggae has been experiencing a greater rate of declining sales of recordings than other genres. It will take some time and a coordinated effort to reverse the negative perceptions and poor business practices by recording artists and music producers that have contributed to this massive decline in sales. The business of music has gone through and is still experiencing major adjustments and Jamaican Reggae artists, producers and managers need to also adapt to these changes. All is not lost, and we need to identify the artists that have demonstrated that they are committed to doing what is necessary to advance the music and enable better business for all concerned. There are a few new artists that in my view are ready to take up this challenge. Chronixx is certainly one of them. So is Raging Fyah, who will appear at SNWMF 2014.

Lots of good points here for the thread and I do agree with Lloydstanbury that it would be good to have a panel on The State Of Reggae (and World Music too let's not forget), at SNWMF if possible. There are numerous reasons to keep pondering for the decline, no doubt. This is a very sad and troubling issue., Not just Sean Paul, but even many of the major reggae recording artists, who've had big billboard mainstream hit songs and albums in the not too distant past are really earning their living primarily off of live performances. Mainstream radio really just ignores the positive vibe of many of today's great and "accessible" songs by say, Romain Virgo, Tarus Riley, etc...The list of reasons for this malaise goes on and on. Culturally, there really needs to be a greater respect for live and recorded music with the willingness to pay for the treasured experience. Something that is taught or re-learned at an early age.
Peace,
Bagga......

QuoteBaggariddim
Lots of good points here for the thread and I do agree with Lloydstanbury that it would be good to have a panel on The State Of Reggae (and World Music too let's not forget), at SNWMF if possible. .....

would certainly be a nice idea for the press tent to have some kind of panel discussion with industry professionals and media...

Its full time we stop dwelling on the negatives and focus on the positives. There is a lot going on for Reggae from Jamaica that we need to pay attention to and support. Check the two links below for examples:

I have to agree with LLoyd. Good positive LIVE reggae music in Kingston is going strong. Much of this has to do with the energies and synchronicity of those associated with the reggae revival movement, but not exclusively. Europe seems to understand and support reggae music in ways that neither Jamaica nor the US have been able to sustain. European crowds are massive and I hear that is duplicated in some parts of South America and Asia. One problem in the US...and I am not talking about SNWMF...many promoters are not educated on the latest artists and trends coming out of Jamaica. Some promoters want to just make money and go with artists that they know from name recognition. That prevents the new exciting upcoming artists from being showcased because many of those promoters are not educated and assume the fans are even less so....when, in fact, many are more so.

Jamaica does build or support infrastructure that markets and enhances artist success. The government does not appear to have a national strategy vetted down to the values they wish to promote on an international level. Lloyd can respond to me if wrong. They are sitting on a major opportunity to showcase positive reggae culture and yet their efforts are lacking. Part of that may be stereotyping and disregard for Rastafari, however, they seem to support some of the worst side of the dancehall music.

QuoteSista Irie
One problem in the US...and I am not talking about SNWMF...many promoters are not educated on the latest artists and trends coming out of Jamaica. Some promoters want to just make money and go with artists that they know from name recognition. That prevents the new exciting upcoming artists from being showcased because many of those promoters are not educated and assume the fans are even less so....when, in fact, many are more so.

ditto.... look back about ehhh 20 months and there are several PDX heads can attest to this... Dropping names like Kabaka Pyramid, Chronixx, Protoje, Jahdan Blakkamoore, Sara Lugo, Ras Muhammad, No Maddz etc. Trying to get people excited about new music means that a lot of the old links get bypassed. IF you don't bypass the older links you end up with shows that are not promoted properly and end up having 20 people who pay and 35 in the building.

This is what they mean when they say revival! Has nothing to do with the artistes! The people are alive and ready for the next level. This is the que today at La Cigale, Paris...waiting to experience the original roots!

This is what they mean when they say revival! Has nothing to do with the artistes! The people are alive and ready for the next level. This is the que today at La Cigale, Paris...waiting to experience the original roots!

Yes Ras_Adam, I was just about to share that same photo taken from the Dread & Terrible tour concert in Paris last night, Sunday April 6. Here is a short video clip from the beginning of the said tour: